The UK should push ahead with plans to create an interconnected network of digital twins to ensure the country can safely and efficiently handle the plethora of new energy flows from emerging low-carbon technologies arriving in energy grids over the next few years, according to a new report from DNV.
The idea of developing a connected ecosystem of digital twins for the UK – a so-called National Digital Twin – was part of the UK’s first energy digitalization strategy. In the report, Connected Digital Twin Insights: Rising to the Challenge across the UK Energy Sector and Beyond, DNV looks at the opportunities, benefits, challenges and risks related to the creation of this network.
The report says the effective deployment of AI and digital twins is essential to the energy transition if the UK is to successfully meet its net-zero carbon goals at an affordable cost. Its findings are also likely to be of interest to those charged with incorporating similar AI-related advances into energy systems elsewhere in the world.
Hari Vamadevan, Regional Director, UK & Ireland, Energy Systems at DNV, said on launching the report that the UK energy sector stood on the brink of a “remarkable transformation” that would lead to an unprecedented level of interactivity and interconnectivity.
“Technologies like connected digital twins will underpin this transformation. The question becomes one of how the sector can harness their potential and add new impetus into the UK’s stalling energy transition,” he said.
The need for effective data sharing and integration to make this ecosystem of interconnected assets, processes and systems work underscores the need for trust and collaboration across the sector, according to the report.
“Finding the right balance between openness and security will be enabled by taking direct learnings from the industry, about building frameworks and standards to ensure assets are also inspected, tested, or certified in the digital space, as well as the physical,” Vamadevan said.
DNV emphasises that trust in the technology and data integrity is vital for wider adoption of digital twins, and that cyber security remains a significant concern.
Hydrogen use case
The report includes interviews with regulators, asset owners, consultancies, and government innovation agencies. It also provides a series of use cases, where digital twins are already being deployed to aid the introduction of low-carbon technologies in areas such as electricity and gas distribution networks.
One use case of digital twin deployment to facilitate the introduction of low-carbon technology is the FutureGrid digital twin project, which aims to test and monitor how decommissioned assets from the National Transmission System (NTS) natural gas pipeline network perform when handling hydrogen.
Hydrogen is being trialled as a cleaner alternative, or addition, to natural gas as a heating fuel. The project is run by National Gas, which owns and operates the UK’s high-pressure gas network. It is using a test site at DNV’s research centre in Spadeadam in north-west England.
Corinna Jones, Head of Innovation, National Gas, said digital twins were a key catalyst in helping organizations like hers manage the complexities of operating the NTS with hydrogen.
“Whilst the climate benefits of using hydrogen as a low-carbon fuel are clear, the feasibility of making the transition using the current infrastructure still needs to be demonstrated,” she said. “Before introducing hydrogen into the existing national gas system, we need to understand the impact of the cleaner gas on pipes and assets to ensure safe, efficient, and cost effectiveness operations. Digital twins are a key technology to help us achieve that understanding.”
(Photo: Windfarm in UK North Sea/Shutterstock)
